Sinc Link

SINC - LINK
6 No.2 MAR-APR 88

B IK L i Se l ; Message from the
TIE:-:THH ATS SERS OLUB À Vice-President
TJE: A EE, COPIES IER MTERM II Mods for
HY ERCH PIR N NRMP MBPRS , s | Larken DD System
RECETIE å 4 FREE COPY RS PART Repair - A Larken
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE, VELDICY

Bob's Notebook
MEUCLETTERS Ang EXCHANGED, FREE OF CHARGE.
TM) Tv T Poking Around
SL UTHER TDEI-SIMOLATR USERS GROUPS

288 Review

aL. HW IRIS: os i TE FRUI et ty nil Screen Copy for
iE RENE, RES SED M: Gemini 10x
"del: n TE AUTHOR I Dt Hu Game Hacks

LT i

TS Bulletin Notes

EM LEMEGEREE 7j Banners in Colour,
Q&A, Demo Sched.

Attention: SINC-LINK Editor The Last Page
TORONTO TIMEX-SINCLAIR USERS CLUB
P.0. Box 7274 Stn. A, Toronto MSW 1X9

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS:

PRESIDENT: ED MAYBEE (743-8141)

VICE PRESIDENT: JEFF TAYLOR (244-8583).
TREASURER: BILL LAWSON (444-8772)
SECRETARY: GEORGE CHAMBERS (751-7559)
ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR: RENE BRUNEAU (531-9749)

TAPE LIBRARIAN ZX81:
TAPE LIBRARIAN 2068 RENATO ZANNESE (635-6536)
TAPE LIBRARIAN QL REG COTTLE (785-3987)
PAPER LIBRARIAN TOM AROELLA (653-6978)
NEWSLETTER : R. BRUNEAU, J. TAYLOR, R. ZANNESE
LIAISON OFFICER (Out-of-town members ) : GEORGE CHAMBERS,
14 RICHOME COURT, SCARBOROUGH,
ONTARIO, M1K 2Y1 (416-751-7559)

TORONTO TIMEX - SINCLAIR USERS CLUB
P. O. Box 7274 Stn. A Toronto, Ont., MSW IX9
Canada

Message from the Vice-President

We're well into 1988 already. Our T4 slips
are in our hands and none of us like the
numbers. The Olympics are over and spring is
around the corner.

Timex-Sinclair computers are still with us
and so are a small but dedicated group of
hard-and-software developers. These program-
mers, inventors and vendors help us to keep
going. They need your support. If you keep
buying their products, they'll keep on making
new products and we all want to see that!

For info on vendors speak to the secretary
or the Newsletter Editors.

Got questions about your computer? Send
them to the Editors and we'll publish them
and the answers (we hope!).

Remember our Swap and Sell Meet is upcom-
ing on May 4th. Got something to trade or
sell? Bring it!

Do you have or want to see a particular
demonstration? Contact the Activities Dir-
ector. He'll help.

The Editors want your Newsletter submis-
sions and any new info you come across.

Help us to make the Newsletter more News-
worthy and interesting!

That's all for now and remember,

"KEEP ON POKING"

SINC-LINK

MTERM II
Modifications for the LARKEN DD System
by G. Chambers
14 Richome Court
Scarborough, Ont MIK 2Y1 CANADA

When I started to put MTERM II onto the LARKEN
system | had some ideas of what [ wanted to do.
Primarily | wanted to be able to make disk saves of
the buffer at any time while on-line. | soon found
that as MTERM was constituted, this was impractical.
MTERM as presently constituted cleared out any BASIC
program and variables that were initial- ly present.
Thus my idea of having a BASIC program ready to
perform the disk-save immediately upon an exit from
MTERM was not possible. I have overcome this by a few
Judicious POKEs into MTERM, pius some unique ideas in
à companion BASIC program, The following notes
describe the changes and their purpose.

I found that one of the first things that MTERM
does upon initialisation is to look at the system
variables VARS and PROG. [t uses these values to clear
out the PASIC program and variables, also to help in
determining the ongoing buffer status.

Bytes which do this are located at 54035/37,
54043/45, and 61165/66. I modified the program by
POKEing new values into several MTERM addresses, as
follows.

54034,33: 54035,12: 54036,123
54043,33: 54044,12: 54045,123
94523 to 54537, POKE all zero's in these addresses.

The first six POKEs cause MTERM to set the start of
the buffer space. This figure could be set anywhere;
it is simply a trade-off between buffer size and BASIC
program size. Initially, I considered having MTERM
look at the system variable E-LINE, however I found
that this became corrupted whenever I entered a direct
command. I fastened on an arbitrary value of 31500
Since I felt that with a diskesave routine in place,
maximizing buffer space was less important than having
sufficient space for the BASIC program. This sizing
will allow a LARKEN-modified LOADER V to be used.

I found that with this, even though the BASIC
remained untouched, the program variables were being
wiped out. Looking around, | found a block of MTERM
code (54523/54537) that appeared to do this. I simply
wiped it out with no apparent 111-effect.

Addresses 61164/65 store the used/free buffer
Status. They are loaded with the values found in
addresses 54044/45 (i.e. the starting address of the
buffer) at initialisation, and are incremented as the
buffer fills. I have made use of this in LINE 22 of
the BASIC program to determine the size of the block
of data to be saved,

There is a “load buffer* option in the BASIC
program, This allows a file to be loaded into the
buffer space. You may determine the file length pricr
to loading it, and then input this information when
requested. On the other hand you can simply enter your
estimate of the buffer length, and this will be
satisfactory for many situations.

These addresses 61164/65 can be useful in another
way. If, for example, you inadvertently erase the
buffer while in the Buffer Menu mode it is possible to
restore it. Option 4 in the menu allows you to insert
an arbitrary buffer length. This will change the
"buffer used/free^ pointer in MTERM so that one can
view and/or save the buffer.

There à number of features about the program which
are worthy of explanation. LINE 100 contains POKEs to
addresses 23662/63. It's purpose is this. Usually, if
you execute a RAND USR from a BASIC program and
return, the BASIC program will continue from where you
left it. However with MTERM this is not the case. You
will come out to an OK report at the bottom of the
Screen, I was unable to find the MTERM code which
caused this, Failing that, I solved the dilemma by
POKEing a number into the System variable OLDPPC
(address 23662/63) corresponding to the LINE number
where I wish to continue in the BASIC program. Then,
when I exit from MTERM it is Simply necessary to press
the C key (CONT), and the ENTER key, to find myself
back into the running BASIC program at the spot where
I want to be,

The BASIC has a couple of other things about it
which are of interest. If one accesses MTERM by a RAND
USR 54016 the program is reinitalized with the buffer
set as cleared. However, if it is desired to re-enter
MTERM without disturbing the state of the buffer then
one can use RAND USR 54089, This option has been
included in the BASIC at LINES 30 and 32.

There probably will be occasions when several
Successive buffer SAVES will be required during the
same download. The BASIC contains an arrangement
whereby the name of the saved buffer remains the same,
while it's suffix is incremented. Where the initial
SAVE has a suffix of "Ca", the suffix in subsequent
SAVEs will be incremented as "Cb", "Cc", etc.

Although we have shown an original BASIC program
here for use with MTERM there is every reason to imbed
these program ideas into LOADER IV or LOADER V, They
will work there in the same way, and provide for the
additional features of these programs,

Also, even without a disk System, these features may
prove to have some merit, and are worth considering.

SINC-LINK

In adapting this program you will have to watch
carefully when you tamper with the makeup of LINES 20,
21, 32, and 100. What you are trying to do is direct
the return of the computer to the appropriate line and
statement number, and this can be tricky.

"ote that the program is designed to be used in the
-ARKEN AUTOSTART mode. That is, you shouid save it to

disk with a 30T9 3.

Q»REM Modified MTERM II for th
e LARKEN disk system by G. Ch
ambers

2 GO TO VAL "9"

4 CLEAR VAL ''31499't: RANDOMIZE USR VAL
''4ge't

6 CLEAR VAL "54015": RANDOMIZE USR VAL
490": OPEN #4,''dd"

7 PRINT £4: LOAD "mterm2.Ci'CODE

9 LET gS$z''buffer''!

18 LET g=VAL "150": LET g=VAL ''97': LET
*zVAL "20": LET o=NOT PI: LET i=PI/PI: BO
RDER o: PAPER o: INK VAL "7": CLS : PRINT

TAB VAL ''10''; "MTERM II"''''TAB PIXPI;''MA
IN MENU;'"''''TAB PI*PI;'1) RUN MTERM''* ' TAB
PI*PI;'"2) LOAD BUFFER'"''TAB PI*PI;''3) NA
ME A BUFFER FILE''''TAB PI*PI;''4) RESTORE

BUFFER"''TAB PI-*PI;''5) SCAN DISK FILE'::

GO SUB VAL ''13'": IF LEN z$<>i OR z$«''1" 0
R zS$»''5'! THEN RUN

18 GO TO VAL z$*f

13 INPUT "Your Choice? "; LINE z$: RETUR
N

ed GO SUB g: RANDOMIZE USR VAL ''54ag1e'"

21 CLS : CLS : LET q$zCHR$ q: PRINT AT V
AL ''19",NOT PI;"Save buffer to disk?(Y/N)
"''"File Name is "; FLASH PI/PI;gS$-*''.C''«q
S: FLASH o: PAUSE o: IF INKEY$="n'! OR INK
EYS$z"N' THEN GO TO VAL "24"

22 LET nzPEEK VAL ''61184''«VAL ''ese''*PEEK

VAL ''61165''-VAL ''3159g''

23 LET q$=CHR$ q: LET g=q+PI/PI: PRINT #
4: SAVE g$*".C'*q$CODE VAL !'!'315gg'',n

24 IF INKEYS$S«»''! THEN GO TO VAL "24"

25 CLS : PRINT AT VAL ''12",NOT PI;''Press

ENTER if you wish to clear the buff
er!!!" Otherwise press any other key!': PAUS
E o

30 IF CODE INKEYS=VAL "13" THEN GO TO V
AL tog

32 GO SUB g: RANDOMIZE USR VAL ''54gas"

48 CLS : PRINT TAB 9;"LARKEN/MTERM II'"'?
''''Ü!!"TITNhSert disk containing program to
be loaded & press a key'': PAUSE o: CLS :
PRINT #4: CAT ''',: PRINT ''"Full name of
File (9 char$): ';: INPUT "Filename? ''; L
INE n$

44 PRINT £4: LOAD nSCODE VAL ''315gg'"'

48 INPUT "Enter the file length''!''" (appr
ox. if not known)";1: LET 1=1+VAL ''315gg'"!
IF 1>VAL "53988!" THEN LET 1=VAL "53966

5Ø POKE VAL "c:184'',1-cS86xs(INT (1/256});

POKE VAL ''64465", INT (1/255)

55 CLS GO TO VAL "32"

SØ CLS : INPUT "Buffer Name (6 Chars) Ws
g$: GO TO VAL ''4g'

80 IF Z$z'"4" THEN GO TO 48

120 CLS : PRINT AT VAL 717" NOT PI;"Enter

full Disk File Name '': INPUT g$

110 PRINT £4: PRINT g$

115 GO TO 10

150 POKE VAL "e3662",VAL ''21": POKE VAL "
23663",NOT PI: RETURN

f. "SURE THEY'RE NEAT PICTURES.
f 3 wur way Do THY ALL Look

if
wa LIKE SOMETHING BY
picasso?"

REPAIR
A Larken utility

Last issue of the newsletter had a program listing
called REPAIR, which would reconstruct a. Larken disk
directory. since that time it has come to my attention
there are several corrections that should be made to
it. They are as follows:

l. Delete lines 330 and 340) J10

2. Modify lines 350 and 480 per listing below.

3. Add lines 501, 502, and 503.

The changes have the following effect:

Line 480 adds OUT 84,8: PAUSE 3 to allow the drive
motor to get up to speed prior to readíng a track.
Required with the 1960 bytes/track interface.

The remaining line changes load an empty directory
into the buffer just prior to it's being filled with
the data for a new directory. It's original location
at 350 did not serve it's intended purpose.

G.F.C.

350 PRINT AT 127,0;d$;AT 14,2;"Insert defe
ctive disk'''TAB 2;'tand press any key to
start": PAUSE Ø

480 IF n«79 THEN OUT 84,8: PAUSE 3: RAND
OMIZE USR nexttrack

500 REM Placing Used/Free track reco
rd in buffer (Track 2)

501 PRINT AT 12,0;d$;AT 14,2;"Install a n
ewly-formatted disk'''TAB 6;''and press an
y key!': PAUSE Ø
5g2e POKE trac,2: PeANSOMEZE-WJER—cettrecic:
RANDOMIZE USR loadbuf
503 PRINT AT 10,0;d$;AT 14,2;'NNow re-inse
rt defective disk''''TAB 2;'and press any
key to continue": PAUSE Ø

SINC-LINK

BOB’S NOTEBOOK

PRINTER INTERFACE
“ere 1s a table of features etc for two orinter
interface sottware programs which I have used with tu
printer interface board. One is Peter Hacksel's LPRINT
which came with my board and the other 1s one called
&RCODE.
LPRINT PRCODE

Start address.......... 45000 £4254
Length....... ssa ae : 5 1111
Fokes (to set up) 24703 0 3
25704 254 231

65525 0 zs

Line Length set........ -— 64259
TAB n isate onssa Ti SPaces as for
added TS2048

Printer Control Codes note a note b

FAERIE He HEE HE EEE EEE HEE HE EE EEE

note a: Use POKE 465525, 1#sthen standard
codes for printer;then POKE
65535, 0&

note 5: Use POKE 542565,0*;then standard
codes for printer;then POKE
64254, 1&

* true ASCII character set

& 2068 character set

LPRINT Disadvantages: Cannot set line length;
TAB is non standard &
awkward to use.

Advantages: Will ignore INVERSE,
PAPER etc in listings.

PRCODE Disadvantages: Only one I can see;
During LLIST it will
stop working properly
when it comes across
INVERSE, PAPER etc
(even if they are
imbedded in a string)

Advantages: Line Length can be set}
TAB seems to work OK,

Both programs are relocatable. I use my reloc8.Cc
srogram to do this (copy in club library). Note that
PRCODE runs at 5 bytes after the start address (ie
£4261 with a start address of 44254). So when you
relocate it to a new address, you may want it to start
running at an address which is a multiple of 256 (so
that you only have to rePOKE 25704 to change from 2040
to PRCODE); in that case make the code start address 5
less than the 'run' address.

SINC-LINK

COHOHEUHEHHPPHHHHEHHHHHHHERHEHEHEHEOHEHHRHHEHHHEHHERBHE
MORE PEERING AND FOKING ABOUT

in mg aarlier article on FEEKING and POKING, I
mentioned the difficulty in peeking cut variable data
uhen it e:1:7s in floating point notation. [f you had
not forced sour numeric variables into the INT
‘integer! nade when you used TIMACHINE, you ended up
with these floating point numbers. Then, if you wanted
to use these values in some other Program, you had tc
Use a routine to convert them to decimal numbers. For
kampie, the decimal number 6524 = 141 75 2240 0 in
sting point. The application that presented itself
came about when | wanted to print the data in my
SUDGET program onto the big printer. I found that the
data yas (and had to be) in floating point because the
dollars AND cents had to be conserved for calculation.
Without going into tha theory then, here is the
routine that | used to do the job. It will work with
the TIMACHINE compiled zode version of Budget which |
ave orovided to the ciub library. This routine will
print four different spreadsheets onto the big printer
using Condensed type mode. I used LPRINT (see above)
and the sheets tock almost the full width of the
Printer paper , ie, 8-1/2 inches. Without condensed
mode, you would have to print each sheet in two or
more parts and this uould really defeat the purpose of
the routine as it would be simpler to Just use the
2040 printer with the orginal Pudget program.

"nu
Pe

uy

7000>RESTORE 7050

7010 DIM £$(19,10): FOR i=1 TO 19: READ t$(i): NEXT i

7030 RETURN

7050 DATA "GROCERIES", "CLOTHING", "VACATION", "HOUSING", "

TAXES", "HYDRO", "GAS" , "PHONE", "HIS", "HERS", "TRANSPORT",

"GIFTS* , "LEISURE", "CAPITAL", "DENTAL", "MEDICAL", "LIQUOR

*,' MISC. *

7060 DATA 'TOTALS»;^

8000 QUT 127,15: POKE 23458,9: INPUT "Select Spreadshee

t..." 'P-Planned A=Actuals"’"Q=Planned YTD B=Actua

ls YTD"; LINE i$

8002 POKE 25704,254: POKE 55535,0

8003 LET tflag=0

8010 OPEN #2,"p*

8015 PRINT ("PLANNED AND i$="P")+(*ACTUALS® AND i$="A"

)+(*"PLANNED YTD" AND i$="Q")+(*ACTUALS YTD" AND i$="B*

}

8020 PRINT ' JAN FEB MAR APR
MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT
NOV DEC TOTAL"

8030 IF ifz'P* THEN LET first=50987: LET last-52065

8035 IF i$="Q" THEN LET first=54497: LET last=55517

8040 IF i$z'A' THEN LET first=52067! LET last=53146

8043 IF i$="2" THEN LET firstz55577: LET lastz54597

2045 LET cat=1 l

8050 FOR i=first TO last STEP &0

3060 PRINT *t!cat):: LET tot=0: FOR jzü TO 55 STEP 5 POKING AROUND !
2070 LET azPEER (ity) by Douglas Jeffery
2090 LET s=PEEK (i*j*1)
2900 LET de9EEK (eje) I have been collecting all sorts of pokes,
2100 LET <=PEEK (ity+3) hints, maps, and other information for the Spectrum
3110 LET be9EER (j++) and TS2068. I have finally gotten most of of it sorted
2120 50 SUP 8:90 out, and want to pass some of it on. Most of it is for
2130 DET tze-tzteUAL n$ the Spectrum, but the 2068 codes shouldn't be to hard
=140 PRINT zg" "S to find. If you want some more info on the game hacks,
EL icd ; or have some of your own, please contact me. I also
ite IF ig="P" OR i$="A" THEN PRINT tot collect hints, etc. for Adventures.
3182 IF oe 3" DR yg="B" THEN PRINT ' 1 Write to: Larch Rd., R.R./1, Telkwa, 8.C. VOJ 2X0
3153 IF tflag THEN RETURN I am always looking for more Hacks.
3165 LET zat=cat+i
8170 NEXT i POKE 23609,100 = Beep at each key touch.
9172 LET *fiag-l
8175 LET i-:54257 AND ig="P")+(57747 AND i$="A") POKE 23692,255 = Auto Scroll (used in program)
2177 LET catz19: GO SUB 8060
3178 PRINT POKE 65536-USR 7962 = Free
3180 POKE 24704,5: G0 TO 200
2190 IF a.c0 THEN GO TO 8240 POKE 23756,0 : ENTER : ENTER = Puts first line into
2200 DIM 5(8) Mne 0.
3210 LET numsz5á*ctd POKE 23756,n = Puts line O into line (n).
8220 IF e=255 THEN LET num=num-45536
3230 Gb TO 8290 POKE 23617,236 = Prints '?' as cursor for Inputs.
8240 LET exp=a-128
3250 LET sign--! POKE 23755,100 = Listings disappear.
3260 IF e:128 THEN LET signzi: LET e-e*128
8270 LET mantze/256*d/65535*c/15777215*b/4294957296 POKE 23755,0 = Listings reappear.
8280 LET numzsignt2^expimant
8290 LET r$=STR$ nua POKE 23658,8 s Caps Lock..
9300 RETURN

RAND USR 1331 = Exploding Border
SOME EXPLANATORY NOTES bini:

RAND USR 51211 = Restarts Flight Simulator after NEW

i. This is to be added to the the tail end of a or STOP.

"budget boot’ program which appears with "budget.CC" RAND USR 3280 = Scrolls whole page up one line.
on the library copy.

2, The boot should be aodified to allow the user to RAND USR 3652 = Clears bottom half of screen.
select this ‘printout’ routine which starts at line

2000. RAND USR 3330 = Scrolls whole page up to line 1.

3, Line 0003 OUT 127,15 switches print mode to
condensed; POKE 23458,8 turns on capsi there are four
choices ot spreadsheets as shown.

4, Line 8002 sets up "lprint.Cl*

s. iine S002 sets variable '*flas' used later.

b. Line 2010 opens the print stream and channel.

1. Lines 8030 to 9043 set variables ‘first’ and
"last" to values determined from the TIMACHINE listing
at runtimes and variables.

8. Line 8045 sets variable "cat" to 1 (This is used
to print the categories).

9. Lines 8050 to 8110 and 8190 to 8300 are the heart
gf the conversion routine to make decimal numbers out

of the floating point numbers.

Bob Mitchell

^
871012 “My hundred-dollar ZX-80 card arrived in the mail. It says ‘Get
Well Soon, ZX-80. '''

SINC-LINK

Translation of a 288 review that appeared in the
November 1987 issue of the

French magazine "Science & Vie Micro"

Clive Sinclair is back. The man, who from
1980 to 1986, sold 5 million of his small
revolutionary computers, resurfaces after a year
long trek across the barren desert. Out of his
bag of tricks emerges a machine that ,at first
glance, looks unimpressive. It is distributed in
a few British boutiques and destined for a
stagnant market; that of the notebook
(briefcase) computers in which only Tandy still
carries a model. Is Sinclair a loser? Look very
closely: the 288 is stunning!

Former prodigy of English industry, knighted
by the Queen, a confidant of Margaret Thatcher,
Sir Clive Sinclair saw nis glory vanish one day
in Aprill 1986 when he signed away the Sinclair
trade name to his great rival, Amstrad. By the
same stroke of the pen, Sinclair bade farewell
to the 5 million computers he had sold (2X80,
ZXB1, ZX Spectrum, and QL), and numerous but
financially catastrophic projects (pocket TV,
electric car, etc).

Today, the remains of Sinclair Research are
splintered into three firms: Anamartic, which
does the research on Sinclair's wafer chips;
Shayle Communications whose concern is the
cellular telephone market; and finally Cambridge
Computer to which we owe the Z88 and which
inherited an old project of Sir Clive known
under the codename Pandora.

The 288 is a notebook computer. It's sole
competitor is the Tandy 102, launched in France
in July 1986, which was an updated version of
the Tandy 100 that appeared in January 1984. The
100, along with the NEC PC 8201 and the Olivetti
M10, which has since disappeared (these three
machines were made in Japan by Kyocera), were
the first to set the standard for this new type
of computer; small size, lightweight, self-
sufficient, integrated software, non-volatile
memory, possibility of transferring data to an
office computer. The targetted users: students,
journalists, writers, and in general, anyone who
has to take notes or do complex calculations
anywhere he or she may be located. Expensive,
the new machines suffered from insufficient
memory. In 1984, the NEC PC 8201 with 64K memory
cost 12,356 Francs. The only one still being
marketted rodey is the Tandy 102, at 3,295
Francs, with 24K of RAM, expandable to 32K!
Standard features of earlier days.

With the Z88, Clive Sinclair therefore had to
come up with some innovations. At first glance,
it looks quite trite; an 8=bit Z80 MPU, 32K of
RAM, a liquid crystal display, in other words,
nothing to get excited about. Taking a closer
look, though, the machine surprises; first of
all by it's dimensions. While it shares the same
desk space as the Tandy (the size of an A4
sheet), it is one-half the thickness of the
Tandy; only 2 cm. thick. As for weight, the
Tandy is twice that of the 288: 900 gr. for the
288 vs 1.8 Kg. for the Tandy. Consequently the
288 can easily be carried inside a briefcase
with room to spare for other items. But it is
it's technical features that stun the most; RAM
is expandable to 3 Mb, the 128K ROM contains
real integrated software to which is added a
BASIC and multiple utilities, a high quality LCD

Screen, a remarkable operating system and the
whole machine is loaded with gadgets.
Considering such features, the price of the
machine seems to be reasonable: about 2,500
Francs (250 Pounds)

Without giving the impression of colossal
strength, the black plastic case of the 288 is
well finished. The keyboard, which will make
former Sinclairists smile, is surprising: a
continuous washable rubber sheet of moulded
keycaps, which are in turn made of rubber. Once
you get over this first surprise, the feel of
the keyboard is, contrary to wnat one would
expect, pleasing and as an added feature,
perfectly noiseless. The LED display, which lies
flat, is very readable in spite of the small
size of the characters. The "supertwist" LCD
screen is manufactured by Epson and displays 6
lines of 108 characters. An adjustment for
contrast is located on the left side of the
case, along with the external power jack and a
miniature reset button, not easily accessible
(which is a plus). On the right side is the 280
expansion bus and an RS232 connector. Located
under the computer is a compartment to fit four
1.5-volt batteries, which will last about 20
hours of continuous operation, plus a
retractable stand for positioning the machine at
an angle on a desk. In one corner of the bottom
of the case one can spot the grill for the
speaker which is used as an error signaller, a
programmable alarm, or to provide a click to the
keyboard for those who can't stand the agony of
silent typing. -

The Memory Of An Elephant

However the largest connectors on the 288
are located along the front edge just underneath
the keyboard; a transparent plastic flap
protects the three memory cartridges that can be
inserted. For the moment, Cambridge Computer is
only marketting the 32K and 128K RAM cartridges
(which makes it possible to increase RAM up toa
maximum of 416K) plus EPROM cartridges of the
same size. These EPROM cartridges correspond to
the only mass memory of the machine since they
can only be erased with an EPROM “eraser”. Only
the third slot can accept an EPROM. No problem
with the RAM cartridges though: not as safe as
the EPROMS (RAM must be continuously powered)
they have the advantage of being able to be
instantly updated and allow processing of large
documents, as we'll see later. These cartridges
are energized by the computer batteries (one
year if the machine is not used), and are
protected by a condenser that maintains power
when changing batteries in case an external
power supply is not available. Cambridge
Computer has promised RAM and EPROM cartridges
of 1 Mb which will extend memory to 3 Mb! This
is a world record for the Z80, a CPU which,
let's remember, is only capable, in theory, of
addressing 64K of memory!

The management of this colossal memory is one
of the Z88's strong points. To accomplish this,
2 operating systems are incorporated. The first
one, traditional, treats each cartridge as a
volume similar to a discrete on a PC. The files
can be organized heirarcnically and manipulated
within this volume, through directories and
Subsdirectories. The only limitation is the size
of the volume: 32K, 128K, or 1 Mb. The second
operating system considers the whole available
memory as one volume. In the case of a 416K

SINC-LINK

configuration, for example, the whole memory can
be used for one file, under the condition of
course, that no other file has been protected by
tne first op-system. In case of the latter, the
available memory will be reduced accordingly.

Furthermore, the 288 utilizes this working
memory to allow storage of up to 10 documents at
a time, be they word processor, BASIC, diary,
etc. This complex memory management, which is
completely user-transparent, has 2 advantages.
The first one is to permit two levels of record
arcniving: in mass memory for suspended
applications, and in working memory for current
applications. Second advantage; a 2-level
protection. In case of a reset (as when a BASIC
program has locked up the system) the current
applications will be irrevocable lost, but not
the files.

Switching on the 288 is done by pressing both
shift keys simulataneously. The initial display,
named "index" produces two menus. One shows the
listing of the system applications, while the
other lists the names of the suspended
applications along with the date and time of the
suspensions and the file name.

The cursor keys allow the direct selection of
the required application or file. Of all tne
software contained in ROM, the big daddy is
Pipedream, a wholly integrated utility that
assumes the multiple tasks of wordprocessor,
spreadsheet, and database. Very powerful and
equipped with comprehensive features found only
4n larger machines, Pipedream carries an
incredible number of commands and options. It's
basic working structure is the spreadsheet
regardless of the document that one wants
produced. Whether it be text, a calculation, or
an address file, Pipedream recognises only one
format for it's data; that of the spreadsheet.
This nas an enormous advantage; one single
application can very simply intermix the three
applications. Furthermore, the formatting of a
document is greatly simplified; each column of
the spreadsneet has it's own margins. It is
therefore possible to present text in multiple
columns.

The theoretical size of a document is limited
by the number of columns, 64 (A to BL) and by
the maximum number of characters that each cell
can hold, 255; the number of lines being only
limited by tne size of the memory. In terms of a
database, we can say that in Pipedream, an entry
could have 64 fields of 255 characters, each
field corresponding to one cell and each entry
corresponding to a line. Some thing for word
processing which would allow 64 columns of 255
characters!

Integrating the different applications in a
single document does not present any problem as
each cell of the spreadsheet can be reserved for
one type of data. Also, a field indexed to a
calculation cell can be incoporated into a line
of text. There is only one restriction;
Pipedream does not allow indexing fields between
files.

Besides Pipedream, the 288 is equipped with a
BASIC, the Z80 version of BBC BASIC and other
minor software which is in reality the "office
accessories" part of the system; a diary that
can be used as a simplified wordprocessor; a
calendar that can be linked to the diary to
remind you of certian important days; a clock
with a very elaborate programmable alarm,

capable of beeping and automaticall star
application as many times as you MiB at Sei
intervals (one year, one month, one week, down
to one second); a calculator with a conversion
table (litres-gallons, kilometers-miles, etc); a
communications utility (emulating the VT 52
terminal) ;

a control panel allowing the setting of system
parameters (baud rate of the RS232, date format,

oe cartridges, and current directories,
etc.

Finally the Z88 has two more important
utilities: The first one, Filer, i: the command
program of the op-system. Easy to use, it allows
the execution of operations on the files held in
memory: copy, rename, delete, create a
directory, etc. The second one called
Import/Export is a simple idea for the first
time simply achieved. This utility allows the
transfer of Pipedream files to other computers
which is the main raison d'etre of a notebook
computer. For the moment only a kit earmarked
for the IBM PC is available. This kit is made up
of an RS232 cable and a 523 inch disk containing
the transfer software, plus conversion utilities
to translate the Pipedream format to tne
Wordstar and 1,2,3 formats. Conversion and

transfer can, of course, be accomplished in both
directions.

When it comes to the general efficiency of
the entire 288 software, the programmers at
Cambridge Computer put to excellent use the
apparent constraints that an 8 line LCD display
imposes. (Cambridge Computer is made up of 3
British firms grouped under one common banner,
Trinity Concepts). The menu key gives access, by
successive keystrokes, to the entire set of
options in each program, via a superimposed
window while at the same time dimming the
current application on the screen. Furthermore,
each option is activated by a combination of one
keystroke plus the "diamond" key. The "square"
key allows you to call any program in memory
without quitting your current application. A
final luxury; a square window located to the
right of the current document. Each character of
the main window being represented by one screen
pixel. A sort of WYSIWYG, if you want...

Crossing The Channel

Clive Sinclair's return is being carried out,
on the technical side, under the best of
auspices: the 288 is a little computer that is
original, exciting, perfectly executed. The
problem is that Sir Clive is really starting
over from the bottom of the ladder. Selling the
288, for the moment, only in Great Britian
through two chain stores. For France, nothing is
being planned at the present time. We can only
hope that some importer will be interested under
the condition he Frenchified the machine; the
QWERTY keyboard could be tolerated if the 288
was capable of displaying the accentuated
characters, which is not the case.

Is there a risk that the Z88 will join the QL
in the realm of genial but unsold products? What
does Sinclair say? Apparently his trip through
the desert has neither destroyed his industry
captian's faith nor his taste for shattering
pronouncements. Last September he adventured:”
the Z88 will in 18 months be the world's best
selling computer!"

Translation by Lawrence Chavarie.

SINC-LINK

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GAME HACKS

Manic Miner (Bugbyte) - Tape when game is running
6031769.

(Software Proj.) Type TYPEWRITER. A boot will
appear at the bottom of screen. Then hold down 9 and
press a combination of keys to jump to rooms. (9-1)
(9213) (9-1234) Write for complete list.

Space Harrier - In trainee mode, select keys as
normal and when you return to the main menu type
CHEAT3FB69 and the game starts with you invincible.

Highlander - Kneel down and keep a high bleck so
that your opponent loses energy when he hits, not you.

Martinoids - Merge Loader and add POKE 46926, 127:
POKE 42812, 0: POKE 42815, 0 before the RAND USR
statement.

Nemesis - Merge loader and enter 56 POKE 51479, 1
and you're indestructible.

Sweevo's World - POKE 33219, 0 for Infinite lives.

I have quite a lot of pokes, hints, and some
maps for games and adventures. If you want help with
anything or if you have anything to share, please
contact me. If there is enough interest, I will try to
make a regular column for the newsletter.

Douglas Jeffery

5.1987 Tribune Media Services. Inc.
Ali Rights Reserved

"What happened to the cigar box Z
filled with scissors, paste and crayons?

Sinclair Monitor Battery Source
WA6DLI

Are you wondering how to power the small
Sinclair TV set which can be used as a
monitor now that Polaroid has quit making the
Pola-Pulse and Pola-Pack batteries? (Or at
least took them out of their catalog the
dealers have.)

Here is information on how to get
replacement batteries from those empty
cartridges from you Polaroid 600 and Spectra

cameras. If you carefully open the plastic
frane, you can extract the flat Polaroid
battery, which is hardly used when just a

pack of film has been shot. (Unless you let
your film lie in the camera for two years at
a time!)

This battery pack is very powerful and
is 6 volts. Turn it over to see the cutouts
in the cardboard where the round metal
surface is exposed to make contact with the
camera feelers. Holding the pack so the holes
nearest the top edge are away from you, the
right hole is plus (+), although nat marked.
Mark it now for reference.

You could make a holder with feelers to
contact the two spots and a battery
eliminator plug wired to the feelers, and
operate transistor radios, small TV’s like
the LCD ones Radio Shack sells, or anything
that runs on aultiples of 6 volts. With
diode protection, a back up for the ZX 81 or
T/S 1000 to hold memory if power fails could
be built.

Best of all, if you peel the cardboard
away on the left or negative (-) contact
about an inch, you can duplicate the pattern
of the Pola-Pulse or Pola-Pack battery
contacts and use the discard from the fila
pack in those applications that use the Pola-
Pack, notably the Sinclair Pocket TV. You
also trim the cardboard sides to the width of
the narrow top piece! As long as you take
pictures or know someone who does, you will
have free batteries!

TS BULLETIN

The two pages in our newsletter filled full of Timex
sources and facts come from a newsletter published by
8111 Harmer, of Ottawa. His newsletter, the TS
BULLETIN, is published monthly (well, almost), and is
produced single-handedly by 8111. We have recently
started exchanging newsletters with him.

Bill 4s a member(?) of the Ottawa-Hull Timex/Sinclair
User Group, which put out their own newsletter,
infrequently. G.F.C.

From the TS BULLETIN, published by Bill Harmer

SINC-LINK

10

The January meeting of the Ottawa-Hull Timex/ Sinclair User Group
(mailing address, c/o Mike Dove, 2161 East Acres Rd., Gloucester, Ont.
KlJ 946, Canada) saw about a dozen members attending and featured a demo
by the President of the Disci le, accessory board for the Spectrum/ TS 2068
as well as a new style accessory keyboard tor the IS2068 produced for sale
by member John Mathewson....John Mathewson also mentioned that he would
be willing to assist members or other user group owners of the TS2068 in
the repair of their computers as a sideline in order to avoid having to send
them to the U.S. with its attendant customs clearing problems, This has
arisen due to the fact that Timex in the U.S. South is no longer repairing
them, John's mailing address is: 1852 Appleford St., Gloucester, Ont.

especially theSCLA chip, can not be fixed through him. If you have any info-
rmation about sources of chips or new or used TS2068's (the latter at à low
price) he would also be interested in hearing from you....There is a rumour
circulating that new, surplus TS2068's are available still for about Us$85.
from Brooklyn Closeout Orp,, ymer St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11211, USS As

A price of US$130 adds to ita TS2040 printer, two cartridges and three
cassette tapes.... For those who have a WAFADRIVE for their Sinclairs a

duced in the U.K. and more recently in the U.S, apparently will not be

e oe oSyncWare News, a newsletter for the TS2068 and with Some coverage of the
242 817 1510007781500 is still publishing , Subscriptions are US$19.95 in
Canada, and reprints of its first volume of issues that dealt with the ZX-81/
TS1000 are available for US$19,95 too, Write, SyncWare News, P.O. Box 64,
Jefferson, NH 03583, U.S.A.....A new newsletter TS2068 SAFE DISK UPDATE for
owners of the T$2068 Oliger disk system for the SLO cost $15 (U.S.)

for four issues a year and are available from 1317 Stratford Ave., Panama
City, FL 32404, U.S.A, They may also cover disk Systems other than the
Oliger SAFE system..... ** ^ .Fontman is a TS2068 program for varying the
fonts of type on the screen or printer when using a TS2068. For further
information contact Jack Dohaney, 390 Rutherford Ave., Redwood City, CA 94061
U.S.A. Two libraries of 20 fonts each are included with the program altho
the number of possible different fonts are unlimited....Canadian QL programs
are available from Meta Media Productions, 726 West 17th Street, Vancouver,
B.C. V5Z 1T9, Canada. Products include a machine code monitor on EPROM and
a modem program Q LINK as well as a fractal graphics generator program,
Prices run in the $20 and up range....Larken Electronics is working on a

SINC-LINK
11

Meetings, News and Notes (Continued)

fast RAM disk for the TS2068.It requiresone the: have the Larken. DOS system,
Available now ---- For further information write: Larken Electronics,
RR#2, Navan, Ontario, Canada K4B 1H9. Larken markets a line of disk drive
interface products for the TS2068 and even the ZX-81/TS1000. A new DOS
to replace the DOS in Aerco, Ramex, Oliger, and previous TS2068 Larken
systems is now available in cartridge form from about $65....A program to
verify the typing of ZX-81/TS1000 listings by using a checksum has been
published in the December issue of the Ottawa-Hull Timex-Sinclair User Group
newsletter, available through that group (see address on presious page).
The newsletter also listed a program for the TS2068 for the game Othello.
It will also run on the ZX-81/TS1000.... If you find any old ZX-81/ TS1000's
cheap, even with non-working keyboards snap them up. There is a small
market for them used and several requests for ones for the Toronto User
Group have been received. The address: Toronto Timex-Sinclair Users! Club,
c/o George Chambers, P.0. Box 7274, Station 'A', Toronto, Ont. M5W 1X9.
They also accept out-of-town memberships. Its fee is probably the $20
of most user groups,... Mark Smith of Quantum Computing is experimenting
with the development. of a 68020 —À board for the QL. It makes the
QL faster than a Macintosh. The 020 is a full 32-bit microprocessor as
compared to the QL's built in 68008 which is a 32-bit/ 8-bit microprocesor,
Atalk was given at the Long Island User Group in New York in the fall on
this work in progress....The Long Island Sinclair Timex User Group, P.O.
Box 438, Centerport, N.Y. 11721-0438, U.S.A. also has a series of cassettes
with TS2068 programs on them (as many as fifty per cassette) available for
Swap with other user groups or for members-$l5duess$óea.Seven cassettes have
been produced in the series. For further info write or phone 1-516-791-6247
(Harvey Rait)....The Johnson City New Yorkàa T3 also preparing a series of
swap cassettes, Their address is: SINCUS, 1229 Rhodes Road, Johnson City,
vba ; U.S.A. If we are to continue getting new programs for our
computers the user groups are the logical source of leads as suppliers close
or drop the Timex/Sinclair line..They also sell the cassettes for a nominal
sum,,.,The setting up of local Sinclair B.B.S. so that local groups can
have a number to call with their modem attachments is also proceeding in
many localities, The Indiana Sinclair Timex Users' Group, 513 East Main St.,
Peru, Indiana 46970, U.S.A. has had one such system working successfully
using a TS2068, Any groups planning to set up such a system might wish to
contact them and see if they have any ideas about the sort of program to
use,,..While on the subject of B.B.S. activity, the Computer Shopper provides
many numbers of B.B.S. locations so that they are a good place to start if
you get a modem and are willing to call long distance....TOPS, Timex disk
drive newsletter seems to have resumed publication. Write: Ron Havlen, 4307
Chambers Rd., Horsehead, N.Y. 14845 U.S.A....Beta BASIC the programmers!BASIC
for the Spectrum emulated TS2068 includes windows and solves many of the
frustrating problems that occur with the TS2068 built-in BASIC £15 from
Beta Soft, 92 Oxford Rd., Moseley, Birmingham, B13 9SQ, England, and a tutor-
ial tape on Beta BASIC is available for US$5 plus mailing from Robt. Hartung,
22416 No. County Line Rd., Huntertown, IN 46748, U.S.A....-Dan Elliot, Rt.l,
Cabool, MO 65689, U.S.A. is offering a repair service for TS2068,TS1000,TS150
ZX-81 and QL as well.as RAM packs. He also does hardware modifications and
upgrades, Phone him at 1-314-739-1712 (eves. Sun. to Thur.).first....QL 512K
RAM cartridge is available from Matt Zenkar, P.0.B. 12534, Rochester, N.Y.
14612, U.S.A, for about US$140....E.Arthur Brown Co., 3404 Pawnee Dr., Alex-
andria, MN 56308, U.S.A. offers the TiMachine BASIC compiler for the TS206t
for US$19.95, TS1000 Masterscribe wordpracessor with font choice for $14.95,
and Pixel Print desktop publishing graphics for the TS2068 at $19.95. The
Blue Thunder helicopter flight simulator for the TS2068 is at $16.95 and the
TS2040 printer is still available for US$34.95. Misc. ZX-81 cassettes are
$10 for five. Super Hot '2' for the TS2068 has been marked down to US$14.95.

SINC-LINK

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BANNERS IN COLOUR
By Jeff Taylor

In the past three issues of Sine-Link
I've written reviews about the McMichael
interface and the usefyi uttlity
Programs Mr. McMichaei has created to
drive the 1520 cotour plottery Printer,

His Latest program is called
Bannerific" and as the name implies,
the user can create eye-catching banners
in à variety of lengths, widths and
colours.

Banneritic enabies you to construct
four-colour horizontal or vertical
banners with your choice of character
size (from about 178" high to almost 4"^
high) and your selection of one of three
Duilt-in fonts Cor ioad tn your own font
set J. Also inciuded are the standard
graphic characters and McMichael's oun
UDG set (see below). Proport lonal
spacing is an option too.

UP to tuo hundred characters can be
Printed. in one string and each one can
be one of four colours Cblue,black,red
or green), Inverted and/or overlaid,

This is quite a versatile package and
if you use the interface/pr Inter
combinat !on then Bannertfic ts
definitely a useful addition.

For more informat ion contact:

Mr. John McMichael

1718 Palmer Drive,

Laramie, Wyoming, USA, 82070

McMichael UDG's

$O«IN eoo
EPEOED NS

Qwes tions

Questions

l. Does anyone have back issues of
ELEKTOR, ETI, PRACTICAL ELECTRONICS or
ELECTRONICS MONTHLY CUK magazines)?
Articles on Sinciair computers are of
special interest (for obvious reasons JJ

2. For any of the Sinciair machines,

what is Ramtop? Where is Ramtop? What
does it do? And how can it be changed
Cle raised or lowered)?

3. How are the advanced graphics modes
in the 2068 accessed?

4, What can be done to eliminate the hum
on tapes that have been SAVED?
Cespeciaily ZX81 tapes)

Do you have a question about TS
computers? ASK USI
Do you have an answer to a quest lon?

TELL USI

Send your questions and responses to the
Sinc-Link editors, these will be printed
in the following issue.

Anscers

PERDNSTRATIONS

Schedule of Demos at Club Meetings
April 6 -Speech Board- the 2068 talks]
May 4 -Suap Meet- “Swap and Sell"
Tini 1 -QL Demo- Quanta Library

In addition to the theme demonstrat !ons
(2ZX81,T92068,QL ), ue would Like to
Present neu items, games or anything of
interest to the ciub membership. To do
that, houeuer, requires that vou, the
club members, come forward with Ideas or
demos. Hou about it?

SINC-LINK 13

MM ru, ;
ys

y; 44
Y ui,

Yb;

"We're Witnessing a Geological First,

Postmaster, if Undelivered Return to :

Toronto Timex - Sinciair Users Club
in. A

P. O. Box 7274 Sin.
Toronto, Ont., MSW IX9

Canada

14

— A Digital Fault!'

SINC-LINK